Originally Posted: February 26, 2016
Managing asthma can be time consuming and painful. You’re subject to allergy tests and X-Rays. Your lung capacity is measured by blowing into a spirometer, a small device that looks something like a breathalyzer. After your lungs swell and become inflamed, the symptoms are diagnosed through another series of invasive tests known as bronchoprovocation.
Edward Allegra, a 22-year-old senior at Southern Methodist University, wants to ease that process. Allegra has launched a company named BioLum Sciences and has developed a smartphone-enabled device that targets a chemical in a user’s breath sample. The concentration of said chemical can tip off the presence and severity of asthma without all the previous tests. The results can then be shared with a doctor.
“I need to make this become a reality. I want someone to come to me and say how much better their life is because of what I’ve done here,” says Allegra. “I think that’s the end goal.” READ MORE